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6.29.2005

Paralegal / Legal Assistant

While lawyers assume ultimate responsibility for legal work, they often delegate many of their tasks to paralegals. In fact, paralegals–also called legal assistants–continue to assume a growing range of tasks in the Nation's legal offices on private, corporate, Federal, and State levels.

A legal assistant may perform any function delegated by an attorney, including but not limited to the following:

  • Conduct client interviews and maintain general contact with the client, so long as the client is aware of the status and function of the legal assistant, and the legal assistant works under the supervision of the attorney.
  • Locate and interview witnesses.
  • Conduct investigations and statistical and documentary research.
  • Conduct legal research.
  • Draft legal documents, correspondence and pleadings.
  • Summarize depositions, interrogatories and testimony.
  • Attend executions of wills, real estate closings, depositions, court or administrative hearings and trials with the attorney.
  • Author and sign correspondence provided the legal assistant status is clearly indicated and the correspondence does not contain independent legal opinions or legal advice.

Professionally, a paralegal's time for substantive legal work (as opposed to clerical or administrative work) is billed to clients much the same way as an attorney's time, but at a lower hourly rate.

Paralegal education programs are offered in many formats and lengths, including onsite and online paralegal courses. Various kinds of public and private institutions offer paralegal education, including community colleges, four-year colleges and universities, business colleges and proprietary institutions. These various institutions make it possible for persons with diverse backgrounds to enter the profession. The most common types of programs are Associate Degree Programs, Bachelor Degree Programs, Certificate Programs and Master's Degree Programs.

The legal assistant profession is projected to grow by 33% by 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of Employment Projections. Compared with other occupations, this is an above average growth rate.

Private law firms are the largest employers of paralegals, but a growing number of other organizations are beginning and continuing to hire them. These organizations include corporate legal departments, insurance companies, real estate and title insurance firms, and banks.

6.27.2005

Nurses Make a Difference in the Lives of Others

Medical Nurses are the backbone of our healthcare system. Caring for the sick is only one aspect of what a nurse does.

Today's registered nurses (R.N.s) work to promote health; prevent disease; help patients and their families cope with illness, emergencies and long-term disease; and save lives. Nurses relate to people of all backgrounds and cultures. They act as advocates and health educators for patients, families, and communities.

Nurses have the opportunity to do "good" in the world everyday. Many exciting and rewarding opportunities exist in nursing. Schools offer a varity of medical nursing degrees and certifications including some online coarses.

With over 100,000 vacant positions and a ever-growing need for healthcare workers, the career outlook is excellent for the medical nursing field. Did you know that well paying jobs for Registered Nurses are available in almost every city in America? Did you know that by the year 2020, there will be an estimated shortage of 800,000 nurses? With the world population living longer and needing more care, the healthcare field is one of the best places to get a job, and will likely stay that way for many years to come.

Nursing is a lot of fun. Being able to get along with people and good communication skills are important qualities for life. Most nurses will tell you that they have made life-long friends while working as a nurse. That's because nurses work as a team. They help each other and they teach one another new skills. There are abundant opportunities to meet wonderful people who want to make a difference in the world. So, is nursing for you?

An Arts Education - Infinite Possibilities

There are a lot of options out there when it comes to getting educated in the arts. From degrees in basic print and web-based graphic design, to multimedia and computer animation, to visual effects and motion graphics and even culinary arts, the variety of arts-related college programs is almost endless.

If you tend to enjoy expressing yourself creatively through the arts, you could find a bright future waiting for you after getting an arts education. Careers in creative fields like marketing, fashion design, advertising, interior design, illustration, industrial design, video production, computer animation, interactive multimedia and web design, etc., will give you opportunities to break visual and conceptual boundaries. These careers are fast-paced and fun, and as you move from one arts-related project to another, you'll rarely find yourself bored.

If solving design problems excites you, your arts education can give you the ability to design logos, magazine print ads, innovative new products, bold new fashion trends, or engaging interiors. There are plenty of well-established schools with faculty and programs that will inspire you to become your creative best, and build a portfolio that will get you meaningful employment as a graphic, product, fashion, or interior designer.

With the ever-increasing emphasis on digital media, there are many opportunities to find employment at the cutting-edge of computer graphics development. Even though it's most often digital, media arts involves movement and life, creating and capturing images that move people, using sound and imagery to tell a story. All this incredible technology gives ever-expanding abilities to even fledgling artists, and a career as a director, producer, recording engineer, photographer or cinematographer, computer graphics animator, interactive media designer, or video game designer is more attainable than ever before. And the internet provides an amazing outlet for web designers and media artists to get their work seen by people all around the world.

And even though it's probably an advantage to have a natural creative ability, there are plenty of arts degrees in which more technically-minded people can find great satisfaction, principally involving digital media production as mentioned above. Many colleges and universities now offer multimedia degrees that give some artistic instruction but their overall focus is more technical. These programs integrate graphics, text animation, video and audio digital materials to entertain, educate, and communicate ideas through meaningful human interaction.

Don't forget that as art becomes more digitized, so too do the art classrooms. Many programs offer online art classes in many of the areas listed above.

6.23.2005

Massage Therapy - Start Rubbin'

Massage therapy is one of the most sought after careers today and demand for skilled and trained massage therapists is sure to grow. I know I could sure use a good massage. ;-) Massage therapy degrees open the door for an exciting career. And, whether you're interested in a second source of income or want a full-time career, message therapy provides a fun and flexible solution.

A professional massage therapy program prepares students to become successful practicing bodyworkers. Message therapy is not only an art, but also a science. By finding the right school and program, you can learn both. More and more people are turning to massage therapy, both for stress relief and for medical reasons.

A good message therapy program will teach students light energy work as well as structural bodywork modalities, the most common techniques (Eastern as well as Western theory), and how to treat specific discomforts. Programs train students with the knowledge of deep tissue massage, reflexology, sports massage, infant massage, Swedish massage, Shiatsu, Reiki, and heated stone massage.

Certificate programs include spa elements, prenatal, labor and postpartum, canine massage, orthopedic and sports massage, energy healing, the Art of Zen, and more.

Massage therapy graduates will find numerous opportunities, including: sports massage, clinical massage, corporate massage, private practice, the medical field, infant massage, rehabilitation, health and wellness centers, and geriatric massage.

One of the additional plus to a message therapy career is the amount of time needed to train. Most programs can be completed in a few short months. Become a massage therapist!

6.22.2005

Degrees and Career Advancement in Accounting

Although many dread balancing their checkbook and filing their taxes, there are others—believe it or not—who enjoy it. This post is for those of you who have a liking for the ledger. Don't let the lack of a degree or certification stop you. Get started today by searching for a local career school or online accounting degree and certificate program. Become specialized in areas like professional accounting, managerial accounting, finance, and more.

Financial accounting drives economic information and serves as a essential tool for business decision-making. Intricate business environments demand experienced professionals who have a thorough understanding of financial and accounting practices. Finding a career college that offers accelerated, career-focused Bachelor's degree programs for students interested in developing and advancing their careers as financial analysts, comptrollers, independent accountants, professional investors and other top-tier financial professions is the first step.

The right accounting program will also teach central competencies in technology, critical thinking, and communication. Students in an accounting degree program gain experience in diverse business disciplines including economics, management, statistics, organizational behavior and finance.

Discover an accredited university, college or school that's right for you. The DegreeMe services aid in finding institutions that offer online accounting degrees, online finance degrees, bookkeeping certification, tax preparation training, and more.

6.20.2005

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